Suspicions about broad weakness in the market for new tablets were confirmed by the latest fourth quarter Tablet Tracker report from International Data Corporation. Apple already reported that iPad sales declined to 21.4 million units in the holiday quarter, still the dominant player in the market. More surprisingly, IDC says that Amazon shipped only 1.7 million Fire tablets across the line, despite refreshing their offerings last September. By IDC’s count, Amazon’s tablet shipments were down almost 70 percent from 5.8 million units in Q4 2013. Similarly, the company estimates Amazon shipped only 3.3 million tablets all year last year, down […]
Archives for February 2015
Pat Strachan Leads Editorial At Start Up Publisher Catapult
Former Little, Brown editor Pat Strachan has joined publishing start up Catapult as editor in chief, with the company launching in September 2015, distributed by PGW. Padgett Powell’s story collection Cries for Help, Various is the first title, followed by Gavin McCrea’s first novel, Mrs. Engels in October. Both manuscripts will be shared with booksellers at next week’s Winter Institute, and by spring 2016 Catapult expects to publish 12 titles a year. Strachan says in the announcement: “Catapult will promote American and international fiction and narrative nonfiction that is alive, insightful, illuminating, stirring, and surprising by way of singular writers—whether emerging or established—who […]
People
Rakesh Satyal will join Atria as senior editor on February 9. He had been a senior editor at Harper Collins, and spent the past three years working in San Francisco and New York for branding and marketing firms. Satyal will focus on a broad range of nonfiction with an emphasis on narrative-driven books in the areas of pop culture, biography, memoir, current events, and emerging trends. Also at Atria, Jin Yu has joined as digital marketing manager. Previously she was assistant marketing manager at Ballantine Bantam Dell. Lisa Tauber has joined Clarkson Potter as editor. Previously she was an associate editor […]
Hannah Tops Amazon’s February List (And Is Costco’s Pick, Too); And More
Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale — the Indie Next February No. 1 title — is Amazon‘s spotlight title in their best books of February list, and the new Pennie’s Pick at Costco as well. M.O. Walsh’s My Sunshine Away is Amazon’s featured debut. Their full list features: Green on Blue, Elliot Ackerman Funny Girl, Nick Hornby Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America, Jill Leovy A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator’s Rise to Power, Paul Fischer A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari Get in Trouble: Stories, Kelly Link […]
Alexander Takes Newbery, Santat Wins Caldecott, Woodson Gets King (and Newbery Honor)
The ALA presented their many Youth Media Awards Monday morning on the closing day of their winter meeting in Chicago. The Newbery medal went to THE CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and the Caldecott was awarded to THE ADVENTURES OF BEEKLE: The Unimaginary Friend written and illustrated by Dan Santat (Little, Brown Children’s). Among other honorees, Jandy Nelson won the Michael L. Printz Award for I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN (Dial Books) and Sharon M. Draper won the Margaret A. Edwards Award for “significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.” Nelson’s book was featured prior to publication […]
Gerritsen Plans Amended Complaint to Continue “Gravity” Contract Breach Suit Against Warner
Last Friday Los Angeles District Court Judge Margaret Morrow granted Warner Bros.’ motion to dismiss Tess Gerritsen’s breach of contract lawsuit, filed at the end of April. Gerritsen’s original complaint alleged she should receive credit and net profit participation on the movie “Gravity,” directed by Alfonso Cuaron, which she said was partly based on her 1999 novel of the same name. Gerritsen sought legal remedy for what could “no longer be dismissed as coincidence” after learning that Cuaron had been attached to her project as far back as 2000. Gerritsen had originally contracted with Katja productions, a shell corporation of New Line […]